Friday, November 20, 2015

My lifelong friend, Wendy Meg Siegel, is always an inspiration for me. She lives life with joy, gratitude, love and a sense of purpose. I first introduced you to her, three years ago, when she publishedThe Gratitude Habit, a "gratitude journal and workbook that can be used in just minutes a day to help train your mind to keep things in perspective and focus on the many gifts and blessings that fill each day." This journal has helped 1000's of people find a way to embrace the concept on gratitude and explore the idea of being thankful for the little things in life.

Today, I am pleased to announce that Wendy Meg Siegel has now published her 2nd gratitude book and this time it is for parents. "Parenting the Gratitude Habitis a 365 day gratitude journal for parents with space to record their appreciations and support for fostering gratitude in their children. It is filled with prompts to develop a personal relationship to gratitude, ideas for family activities, and suggestions for making gratitude an everyday part of their family experience. In just minutes a day, a parent can develop a powerful habit and become a grateful role model. Read more about it and order a copy at Amazon."

Parenting The Gratitude Habit

Check out Wendy's newsletter, The Shared Easel, to read more about her books. Just click on Fall 2015 Newsletter and enjoy her beautiful writing. I especially appreciated the article, Some Thoughts On Goals.

Make an impact on your children's lives by helping them to see life through the eyes of thankfulness and gratitude. It has changed my life for the better and I hope it will change you and your children's lives also. This journal, Parenting the Gratitude Habit, will also make a fabulous gift for parents.

Saturday, November 14, 2015

There are many articles, blog posts and articles about the
Holiday’s and Gluten-Free Food. So when challenged with the idea of writing an article
for the Holiday’s presented itself, I pondered what I should write about.

Food is an integral part of the Holiday’s, therefore being on
a restricted diet during the holiday’s adds a lot of stress during an already
stressful time. I reflected on my gluten-free/dairy-free journey and realized that I have come
a long way. My first holiday was Thanksgiving and I was going to family, who was making the meal the "traditional" way. I made
an entire gluten-free/dairy-free meal to bring with me, since 4 of us were now gluten-free
and dairy-free. It was a tremendous
amount of work and truthfully the food was just okay. I was tired and a little disappointed. Not only did I have to eat food that was just average
but I had to endure the unsolicited comments from one of the non- gluten-free
members that tried the food and was a little unkind about the taste. It hurt my
feelings and I become anxious about cooking for others.

Five holiday seasons later, I have become a much better
gluten-free/dairy-free cook and baker. When planning what I will cook/bake, I think about
what foods gives me that “feeling” of the specific holiday; I am cooking/baking
for. This way I am not overworking by reproducing the entire meal. For example,
I don’t care about certain Thanksgiving traditional foods but I love the
stuffing and gravy, so I focus on making the best gluten-free and dairy-free
stuffing and gravy, I can. To me pumpkin pie is just okay but I love a good
apple pie, so that is what I make. Though I have tried to please everyone in my
“food issue group” it has not worked because it becomes overwhelming. If others
in my “food issue group” want a certain food that I am not making, I now let
them figure it out rather than trying to do it all for everyone. This way on
the day of the holiday I am not burnt out and too tired to enjoy the gathering.

Family and friends now know that there are 2 sets of foods,
regular and gluten-free. The gluten-free
is in a separate location that prevents any cross contamination, especially with
serving utensils. Believe me when I tell you, it is heartbreaking when you have cooked/baked for days and someone proceeds to take the serving spoon from the regular stuffing and sticks it in the gluten-free/dairy-free stuffing, rendering it uneatable, for those of us who can not have any cross contamination. The first time it happened to me, I cried.

I no longer care what others think about my cooking or my
food choices. If they don’t like it then they don’t have to eat it. I have let
it be known that I am not interested in a critic unless I ask for it. Setting
boundaries with family and friends helps reduce the stress. It is essential for
me to take charge of my food issues and stand proud that I am taking care of myself.

Instead of reproducing some already excellent information, I
have listed several places for you to find gluten-free recipes and baked goods
for the holidays. These are only a fraction of the options now available to us.

Local Bakeries: Here
in Southern California there are several good bakery options.When going to a gluten-free bakery
please ask if it is dedicated gluten-free bakery. Celiac people should not eat
baked goods made in a location that could have cross contamination. Cookies con Amore/ Glutenetto: Has a large variety of Italian cookies. Read my post for further information.

Gluten-Free Matzo by Yehuda is really quite good. (I have found this Matzo at Ralphs, Whole Foods, Wal Mart etc. It can be very expensive on line so shop around.)Amazon has an entire section of gluten-free Passover items.If you are up in Los Angeles there are some wonderful bakeries:

Friday, November 6, 2015

GlutenettoAs the holiday's approach, I wanted to remind you all about these amazing Gluten-Free Italian Cookies by Cookies Con Amore Gluten-free brand, Glutenetto. If you live locally (So. Cal) you can find them at Mother's otherwise check out the website or find them on Amazon. There gift boxes make wonderful holiday gifts. I am Italian! So when I had to give up gluten and dairy, I also had to give up so many food traditions and memories. Holiday tables filled with homemade pastries and cookies. When relatives visit in New York they never come empty handed. Usually they would stopped by the local Italian bakery, breathing in the aroma of freshly baked Italian cookies, bread and pastries. I have tried to reproduce Italian treats by reworking the recipes so they are gluten-free and dairy-free but they just come out okay. Okay is not good enough considering all the labor that goes into making them. So until Sunday, at the Natural Products Expo West, I just thought that I would never have a chance to taste these delectable treats again.It was my second and last day at the Expo and we had been there for hours. We were exhausted and ready to leave but decided to go to the 3rd floor where the "newbies" were. Our arms were hurting from carrying the bags filled with flyers, booklets and product and our feet were screaming for relief. We decided to leave. The floor was crowded with people, so we walked around the back of the room. There out of the corner of my eye was 2 beautiful Italian woman surrounded by boxes of outrageous looking Italian cookies.I look up and was taken back by their sign. It said, "GLUTENETTO CERTIFIED GLUTEN-FREE ITALIAN COOKIES." Being diary-free also, I did not put much hope into the signage. So I asked, "Is there any diary-free cookies also." "YES" they answered. Next question, "Are your cookies baked in a dedicated facility." "YES" they answered.

I introduced myself to owner Fernanda Capraro of Cookies con Amore and GLUTENETTO. We talked awhile and she gave me 2 types of GF cookies, Pignoli and Ricciarelli . I carefully put them in my bag and took them home. I knew if they were as good as they looked, I wanted to enjoy every bite in the peace and quiet of my home.They were even better then I could have possibly imagined. They melted in my mouth, bursting with memories and flavors I have not had in years.GLUTENETTO has a variety of CERTIFIED gluten-free cookies, including several that are dairy-free:For a beautiful description and ingredients, please go to the website.GLUTEN-FREE AND DAIRY-FREEAmaretti - almond and macaroon flavor

Monday, November 2, 2015

I eat at Chipotle once in a while, when I need a fast meal that know is safe from gluten. Chipotle only has 1 item with gluten, which is the flour tortilla. If asked, the employees will change their gloves and the food ladles to avoid cross contamination. That being said, I will avoid eating there until this issue is resolved.

According to Donna Gordon Blankinship from the Associated Press, there has been an outbreak of E.coli in Washington and Oregon that has been directly linked to Chipotle. All 43 restaurants in those states have been closed until this issue is resolved.

As of the writing of the article, 19 people have been reported with E.coli and 8 have been hospitalized. The authorities believe that number will increase.

Two of those people hadn't eaten at Chipotle so authorized are investigating the companies that deliver food to Chipotle in hopes of finding the source.

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